Chapter 264
It's hard to say whether to say Yan Shujin was incredibly prescient, or that the remnants of the previous dynasty were just unlucky, or that the remnants of the previous dynasty never imagined that a princess would fabricate such smears against others.
After all, it is said that a gentleman's word is as good as gold, and Princess Yongfu is now a member of the royal family, so she shouldn't be talking nonsense!
Therefore, these people never expected that Yan Shujin would forge a portrait and fabricate evidence. Such things are usually done by treacherous officials who want to harm loyal officials. It would be more reasonable to say that these people from the previous dynasty fabricated evidence to slander Yan Shujin.
When the people from the previous dynasty found Chief Mu, Chief Mu, who had initially been somewhat distrustful of Yan Shujin's words, suddenly had no more doubts.
The village chief, thinking of his tragically murdered wife and eldest daughter, and his youngest daughter whose personality had drastically changed, stared at the people before him and said, "You're saying that the man who killed my wife and daughters is a member of the imperial court?"
“Yes!” the man said in a deep voice, “We are also very angry about what happened to Chief Mu, so we came to tell him the truth. That person is the illegitimate son of Prince Xuan. Because Princess Xuan could not tolerate him and Princess Yongfu was also there, he was driven from the capital to Nanzhong.”
Chief Mu: "..."
So his enemy changed from the former royal family to the illegitimate son of King Xuan? This is truly a series of twists and turns.
And does this person think he's an idiot?
After Princess Yongfu arrived, Chief Mu made a point of inquiring about her. Back then, Prince Xuan was just a poor farmer. Judging by that beast's age, even if Prince Xuan had someone else at that time, it would have been impossible unless a woman was willing to support him.
This is simply impossible. Even if Chief Mu is furious about the fate of his wife and daughter, he doesn't think that someone like Prince Xuan would be willing to be supported by a woman. If someone like that were to give birth to a daughter like Princess Yongfu, he wouldn't be able to do so. Moreover, he has seen the portrait of Consort Zheng in the palace. That beast clearly looks like the Consort, but has no resemblance to the princess whatsoever.
Chief Mu was burning with rage. These people had harmed his wife and daughters for their own purposes, and now they wanted to deceive him? It was simply intolerable. So he waved his hand, and the able-bodied men of the village immediately seized the intruders, binding them hand and foot and gagging them with cloth: "Please, Chief Jin, Chief Sha, Chief Duo, and Chief Jike!"
Immediately, someone went to invite the other village chiefs.
Mu Zhaizi glared fiercely at the man tied to the pillar: "You harmed my wife and daughter and you still think I'm a fool! You despicable bastards!"
Before the bound men could figure out what was going on, the enraged Chief Mu held up a portrait of Prince Wang almost to their faces: "This is that beast's portrait. I've also met Princess Yongfu. The two of them are completely unrecognizable!"
Chief Mu thought himself exceptionally clever, after all, his children, brothers, and even his brothers' children all bore similarities in appearance: "And he looks very much like Consort Zheng! Consort Zheng was a princess of the previous dynasty! I know all this now, the person who harmed my wife and daughters is a prince of the previous dynasty!"
The bound men stared wide-eyed. What prince? The former dynasty's prince was being protected perfectly well, and she was just a mountain woman. There was no way she would let the former dynasty's prince sell his body. Moreover, if that mountain woman was pregnant with the former dynasty's prince's child, they wouldn't dare to kill her even if they had a lot of guts.
Looking at the village chief's seemingly unequivocal words, they felt an urge to shout something.
Chief Mu's face was gloomy: "I originally thought Princess Yongfu was lying to me, but I never expected it to be true. You bunch of people!"
As he spoke, he picked up a whip and began lashing those people.
Chief Jin, who lived nearby, arrived first. After returning home, he specifically called several of his sons to discuss the matter. They all felt that while Princess Yongfu's words could not be entirely believed, they could be trusted to a degree.
When Chief Mu invited Chief Jin over, Chief Jin was about to share his thoughts with Chief Mu when he heard Chief Mu angrily say, "That beast's accomplice has come looking for me! He still wants to deceive me like I'm a fool! I think at least 80% of what Princess Yongfu said is true!"
Upon hearing this, Chief Jin was taken aback and asked, "What did those people say?"
Chief Mu gritted his teeth and said coldly, "They say that beast is King Xuan's illegitimate son!"
Chief Jin said without hesitation, "This shouldn't be the case. That beast and Princess Yongfu have nothing in common."
This is also Yan Shujin's cunning. First, she used a portrait of Prince Wang to make everyone acknowledge Han Jing's skill in painting people. Then, she created a fake portrait of Consort Zheng that they had never seen before. With the preconceived notion of Prince Wang's portrait, they all thought that Han Jing's painting was very lifelike.
However, they did not question whether Consort Zheng actually resembled the figure in the portrait.
Chief Mu said in a deep voice, "Not only that, given Princess Yongfu's personality, if she really had such an illegitimate child, could she have lived this long?"
The chieftain Jin shuddered at the thought of the heads on the city wall and whispered, "I've had people inquire, and Princess Yongfu killed quite a few people when she went to Fuzhou."
The two chieftains exchanged a glance and became more convinced of Princess Yongfu's words. After all, if they really had such an illegitimate child who was disliked by Princess Xuan and Princess Yongfu, he might not have lived to this point.
Once all the people invited by the village chief had arrived, he explained the matter in detail.
The chieftain suddenly said, "Actually, it's possible. Because he's Prince Xuan's illegitimate son, Emperor Yan sent Princess Yongfu to clean up the mess?"
It's not impossible.
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